cover image This Little Piggy’s Night Before Christmas

This Little Piggy’s Night Before Christmas

Joe Rhatigan, illus. by Jomike Tejido. Little Genius, $9.99 (24p) ISBN 978-1-953344-23-6

This festive board book blends elements of Clement C. Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas” with the nursery rhyme “This Little Piggy,” as five anthropomorphic piglets catch a pale-skinned Santa in the act of descending their chimney and delivering gifts. Rhatigan gamely rearranges Moore’s verses (“This little piggy said, ‘His eyes, how they twinkle!’ ”), sometimes adding humorous flourishes of his own: “And this little piggy said, ‘Ha, ha, ha, Santa’s face is so hairy!’ ” Though the book-length repetition of “this little piggy” is a readaloud mouthful, Tejido’s emotive digital piggies and sweeping perspectives offer an entertaining depth to this cheerful twist on a seminal Christmas text. Ages 3–up. (Oct.)